Article of footwear with new insole board and insole structure to absorb shock and keep resilience at forefoot and heel areas of foot

ABSTRACT

Disclosed is an article of footwear with a new insole board and insole construction, including an insole having a protrusion at a forefoot area, and a protrusion at a heel area. The protrusions respectively go through two holes of the insole board and are respectively inserted into an outsole recession area or a midsole recession area which are called a forefoot chamber and a heel chamber, and the two holes take up more than a specific percentage of the forefoot and heel area.

CROSS REFERENCE TO PRIOR APPLICATION

This application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2016-0006023 (filed on Jan. 18, 2016), which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates to a shoe with an improved internal structure, and more particularly, to a shoe with an improved internal structure to improve functions of a shoe by providing a mounting recess formed on a sole such as an outsole or a midsole, and a mounting protrusion having a shape corresponding to a shape of the mounting recess, and formed on a shoe insole disposed on the sole.

Shoes have been used to protect the feet, to improve walking or activity efficiency, and to match with an outfit, among which protection of the feet is the most important function of shoes from ancient times. Shoes were made of straw, wood, leather in ancient times, and today's shoes are made of rubber or plastics mostly in combination with the ancient materials. A shoe structure is dependent on climatic conditions of places, and shoes used to represent ceremonial and class purpose in the old days.

Today's shoe is composed of a sole having an outsole 1 a and a midsole 1 b, an insole 2, and an upper 3, as illustrated in FIG. 1.

Particularly, the insole 2, underlying a foot in the shoe, is formed as a flat plate, and is made in such a manner that synthetic resin, such as EVA, PVA, and polyurethane, is coated to form an absorbing part 2 a, and a textile 2 b is adhered to an upper portion of the absorbing part 2 a.

Meanwhile, running or walking is ideal exercise to maintain health if it is done regularly and continuously after identifying a proper speed and distance according to physical conditions.

In addition, exercise may be done easily by having only sneakers that can absorb shock, without special equipment and with no restrictions on place.

For this reason, walking and running has become a general form of exercise for everybody, with an increasing number of people doing exercise by running or walking day and night.

A recent study from the MIT medical school reveals that a person, walking four times a week for 45 minutes at a time with a constant speed, may lose weight by about 8.2 kg every year regardless of the amount of food intake, may have a stronger heart, stronger lungs and bones, and increased endurance, such that they may perform daily activities without fatigue. Particularly, the study says that power walking may have a greater effect of exercise than normal jogging or running, as power walking is performed by keeping your back upright, pulling in your abdominals and chin, and walking at a fast pace with brisk arm movements back and forth, with the medial side of the knees being straightened, and the feet rolling from heel to toe when the feet come into contact with the ground.

However, although such walking or running can be done easily, serious attention should be given, since walking or running may cause serious joint injuries, such as injuries to the back and knee joints, if it is continued for a long period of time without a correct posture due to a personal habit or if it is overdone in haste.

Particularly, in order to prevent injuries to the spine or joints, it is most important to wear shoes suitable for exercise of running or walking.

Shoes that are currently available in the market absorb shock of a shoe wearer during exercise by having an outsole and a midsole, which mostly absorb shock from the ground surface when the wearer walks or runs. Accordingly, in order to provide a better shock-absorbing function, functional shoes with an outsole and a midsole made of various materials and shapes are being developed. Such functional shoes, which provide a shock-absorbing function by using a cushion such as a rubber plate or a sponge, or an air tube using compressed air, are disclosed in Korean Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2012-0095732, 2012-0001149, 2011-0095549, 2010-0135373, 2010-0121150, and 2010-0086685.

However, even when an outsole or a midsole has good functions, an existing insole may not enable such functions to produce effects.

The existing insole is disposed on an outsole or a midsole and is in direct contact with the sole of a foot, which prevents a shock-absorbing function or an air permeability function of the outsole or the midsole from being provided to the foot in a direct and efficient manner, and thus there is a need to solve such problem.

That is, there is a problem in that since the existing insole is generally placed on a rigid board of a panel type, the shock-absorbing effect of the outsole or the midsole is prevented by that board and a cushioning effect may not be provided directly.

Further, the plantar fascia is a connective tissue that connects the anteromedial side of the calcaneus to toe bones, supports the arch of the foot, and absorbs shock on the sole of the foot. Plantar fasciitis is caused by repeated small tears, causing inflammation in the plantar fascia, and when the existing insole is used, plantar fasciitis may be caused, which is inflammation in the plantar fascia that surrounds all the muscles of the sole of the foot.

RELATED ART DOCUMENT Patent Document

(Patent Document 0001) Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0095732, functional shoes with a cushioning function

(Patent Document 0002) Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-2012-0001149, functional shoes (Patent Document 0003) Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-2011-0095549, a cushion shoe sole with a balance function (Patent Document 0004) Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0135373, functional shoes with a cushioning and air circulation function (Patent Document 0005) Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0121150, functional health shoes with a vibration device for improving a blood flow (Patent Document 0006) Korean Laid-open Patent Publication No. 10-2010-0086685, functional shoes

SUMMARY

In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a shoe with an improved internal structure, in which a mounting recess is formed on a sole such as an outsole or a midsole, and a mounting protrusion, having a shape corresponding to a shape of the mounting recess, is formed, such that the mounting protrusion may be inserted into the mounting recess without blockage by an insole board.

In one general aspect, there is provided a shoe with an improved internal structure, the shoe including: a sole having a first mounting recess or a second mounting recess formed on a forepart or a heel part of an outsole or a midsole; an insole board, which is positioned on top of the sole and has a first through-hole or a second through-hole that are open and correspond to the first mounting recess or the second mounting recess; and an insole, which is replaceable, is positioned on top of the insole board, and has a first mounting protrusion or a second mounting protrusion having a shape corresponding to the first mounting recess or the second mounting recess.

Further, a bottom portion of the first mounting protrusion or the second mounting protrusion may be adhered to a bottom portion of the first mounting recess or the second mounting recess, and a lateral portion of first mounting protrusion or the second mounting protrusion may be adhered to a lateral portion of the first mounting recess or the second mounting recess, so that the first mounting protrusion or the second mounting protrusion are firmly coupled to the first mounting recess or the second mounting recess.

Effects of the invention

The existing insole prevents the function of a sole from being directly provided to the foot. However, the shoe with an improved internal structure according to the present disclosure provides a sole that serves the function of the existing outsole and midsole.

Further, the shoe with an improved internal structure according to the present disclosure may have a function that can be adjusted properly according to needs.

In addition, elasticity may be improved by filling the mounting protrusion of the present disclosure with an air bag, a water bag, gel, and the like.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the structure of a general shoe.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a general shoe insole.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the plantar fascia.

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded cross-sectional view illustrating a bottom part of a shoe with an improved internal structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating an insole board illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a bottom part of a shoe with an improved internal structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another example of a shoe insole illustrated in FIG. 4.

FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a bottom part of a shoe with an improved internal structure according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a bottom part of a shoe with an improved internal structure according to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Before describing the present disclosure in detail, it is to be understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the particular aspects and embodiments described and shall be construed as including all permutations, equivalents and substitutes covered by the ideas and scope of the present invention.

When one element is described as being “connected” or “accessed” to another element, it shall be construed as being connected or accessed to the other element directly but also as possibly having another element in between. On the other hand, if one element is described as being “directly connected” or “directly accessed” to another element, it shall be construed that there is no other element in between. Other expressions describing relations between the elements, for example, “between” and “directly between” or “adjacent” and “directly adjacent,” shall be interpreted in the same fashion.

The terms used in the description are intended to describe certain embodiments only, and shall by no means restrict the present invention. Unless clearly used otherwise, expressions in a singular form include a meaning of a plural form. In the present description, an expression such as “comprising” or “having” is intended to designate a characteristic, a number, a step, an operation, an element, a part or combinations thereof, and shall not be construed to preclude any presence or possibility of one or more other characteristics, numbers, steps, operations, elements, parts or combinations thereof.

Also, the terms, such as “part”, “unit” or “module”, etc., should be understood as a unit that performs at least one function or operation and that may be embodied as hardware, software, or a combination thereof.

Further, elements of the embodiments described with reference to each of the accompanying drawings should not be construed as being limited to the embodiments, and may be included in another embodiment without departing from the spirit or scope of the present invention. Further, it is apparent that even if additional explanation is omitted, the elements may be embodied in one embodiment with a plurality of embodiment being combined therein.

Further, identical or corresponding elements will be given the same reference numerals, regardless of the figure number, and any redundant description of the identical or corresponding elements will be omitted. In the following description, a detailed description of known functions and configurations incorporated herein will be omitted when it may obscure the subject matter of the present invention.

Moreover, it is to be understood that portions having a different size ratio between elements or a different size ratio between connecting elements are also included in the mutual drawings. However, such different representation in the drawings can be understood easily by those skilled in the art, such that a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the description of embodiments, it will be understood that when an element, such as a layer, film, region, substrate, etc., is referred to as being “on” another element, it can be directly on another element, or intervening elements may also be present.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The present disclosure is described with reference to the embodiments illustrated in the drawings, which is merely an illustrative example, and the claimed subject matter is not limited thereto.

FIG. 4 is a schematic exploded cross-sectional view illustrating a bottom part of a shoe with an improved internal structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 5 is a plan view illustrating an insole board illustrated in FIG. 4; and FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a bottom part of a shoe with an improved internal structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

The shoe 100 with an improved internal structure includes: a sole 110 having a first mounting recess 110 a or a second mounting recess 110 b formed on a forepart (a) or a heel part (b) of an outsole 111 or a midsole 113; an insole board 120, which is a hard frame layer, is positioned on top of the sole 110 and has a first through-hole 120 a or a second through-hole 120 b that are open and correspond to the first mounting recess 110 a or the second mounting recess 110 b; and an insole 130, which is replaceable, is positioned on top of the insole board 120, and has a first mounting protrusion 130 a or a second mounting protrusion 130 b having a shape corresponding to the first mounting recess 110 a or the second mounting recess 110 b.

Further, the insole 130 is composed of an insole body 131, and the first mounting protrusion 130 a or the second mounting protrusion 130 b that protrude downwardly from the insole body 131, in which the insole body 131 may be made of a different material from the first mounting protrusion 130 a or the second mounting protrusion 130 b.

In addition, a material of the first mounting protrusion 130 a may be different from that of the second mounting protrusion 130 b.

Each element of the shoe 100 with an improved internal structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below.

In the description, the upper of the shoe uses a general technique, such that a description thereof will be omitted.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the shoe 100 with an improved internal structure is composed of the sole 110, which is the outsole 111 or the midsole 113; and the insole 130, which is a shoes inner sole. Hereinafter, the term “insole” will be used to refer to the shoes inner sole.

In the present disclosure, the sole 110 includes the outsole 111 and the midsole 113, and there may be a case where the outsole 111 and the midsole 113 are not clearly distinguishable or a case where the sole 110 includes only the outsole 111.

Since the insole 130 of the present disclosure serves the function of a general outsole and midsole, there is no need to clearly distinguish the outsole 111 from the midsole 113.

For information, the outsole is a portion that comes into contact with the ground when a shoes wearer moves, and has the same bottom part as a common outsole, having a concave-convex part, to increase friction with the ground.

The midsole is coupled to the top of the aforementioned outsole and the position of the midsole is maintained without being changed along with the insole, in which it is disclosed that a common midsole has various functions to absorb shock or improve air permeability.

In the present disclosure, the sole 110 includes the outsole 111 and the midsole 113, and the first mounting recess 110 a and the second mounting recess 110 b are formed with a predetermined depth on the forepart (a) or the heel part (b) of the outsole 111 or the midsole 113.

Based on the arch of the foot which is a concave portion of the foot, the forepart (a) refers to an anterior part of the arch, which is a central point of a force at a front part of the foot, and the heel part (b) refers to a posterior part of the arch, which is a central point of a force at a rear part of the foot where the heel of a shoe is positioned.

That is, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the first mounting recess 110 a and the second mounting recess 110 b are provided on the forepart (a) or the heel part (b) of the outsole 111 or the midsole 113, so that the first mounting protrusion 130 a or the second mounting protrusion 130 b may be firmly fixed to the outsole 111 or the midsole 113.

Particularly, a bottom part and a lateral part of the first mounting recess 110 a and the second mounting recess 110 b correspond to a lower part or a lateral part of the first mounting protrusion 130 a and the second mounting protrusion 130 b, respectively, so as to be fixed thereto, thereby producing the same resulting effect as a general outsole or midsole.

As illustrated in FIG. 4, the insole 130 is composed of the insole body 131, and the first mounting protrusion 130 a and the second mounting protrusion 130 b that protrude downwardly from the insole body 131.

Particularly, a general outsole or midsole has been disclosed, which has a shock-absorbing or air permeability effect, but even if the general outsole or midsole has a remarkable function, an insole positioned on the outsole or the midsole reduces such effect (cushioning).

Accordingly, the present disclosure provides the insole 130 that serves the function of the general outsole or midsole.

The first mounting protrusion 130 a and the second mounting protrusion 130 b, which are members that may serve the function of the general midsole and outsole, have a cushioning effect, air permeability, and the like, and may be made of an elastic material to absorb shock.

Here, the first mounting protrusion 130 a and the second mounting protrusion 130 b have a shape corresponding to a shape of the first mounting recess 110 a and the second mounting recess 110 b, which forms a concave-convex shape, so that the first mounting protrusion 130 a and the second mounting protrusion 130 b may be firmly received in the first mounting recess 110 a and the second mounting recess 110 b and thus are firmly coupled thereto.

Further, the bottom of the insole 130 may have a bottom groove 130 f in consideration of a cushioning effect or air permeability.

The shoe 100 with an improved internal structure includes an insole board 120 interposed between the sole 110 and the insole 130.

The insole board 120 is made of a hard material and is formed between the sole 110 and the insole 130 as a hard frame layer where the first through-hole 120 a or the second through-hole 120 b are formed, which are open and correspond to the first mounting recess 110 a or the second mounting recess 110 b.

That is, the insole board 120 may be selectively formed at a portion that needs to be partially hard instead of a soft portion of the insole 130, and the first through-hole 120 a or the second through-hole 120 b are formed as holes, through which the first mounting protrusion 130 a and the second mounting protrusion 130 b may pass, as illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 5.

In this configuration, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the shoe 100 with an improved internal structure according to an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure includes: the sole 110 having the first mounting recess 110 a or the second mounting recess 110 b formed on a forepart (a) or a heel part (b) of the outsole 111 or the midsole 113; the insole board 120, which is a hard frame layer, is positioned on top of the sole 110 and has the first through-hole 120 a or the second through-hole 120 b that are open and correspond to the first mounting recess 110 a or the second mounting recess 110 b; and the insole 130, which is replaceable, is positioned on top of the insole board 120, and has the first mounting protrusion 130 a or the second mounting protrusion 130 b having a shape corresponding to the first mounting recess 110 a or the second mounting recess 110 b.

Here, a bottom portion of the first mounting protrusion 130 a or the second mounting protrusion 130 b is adhered to a bottom portion of the first mounting recess 110 a or the second mounting recess 110 b, and a lateral portion of first mounting protrusion 130 a or the second mounting protrusion 130 b is adhered to a lateral portion of the first mounting recess 110 a or the second mounting recess 110 b, so that the first mounting protrusion 130 a or the second mounting protrusion 130 b may be firmly coupled to the first mounting recess 110 a or the second mounting recess 110 b to be integrally formed.

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating another example of a shoe insole illustrated in FIG. 4; FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a bottom part of a shoe with an improved internal structure according to another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure; and FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a bottom part of a shoe with an improved internal structure according to yet another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure as illustrated in FIG. 7, the insole 130 may have a predetermined space to include filling members 133 a and 133 b.

That is, the insole 130 may include: a first filling member 133 a formed in the first mounting protrusion 130 a; and a second filling member 133 b formed in the second mounting protrusion 130 b.

The first filling member 133 a or the second filling member 133 b may be made of an air bag filled with air, a water bag filled with water, gel, and the like, so as to easily absorb shock. The first filling member 133 a or the second filling member 133 b may have a higher elasticity than the insole body 131.

That is, the first filling member 133 a or the second filling member 133 b may be made of a material having a higher elasticity than the first mounting protrusion 130 a or the second mounting protrusion 130 b.

Accordingly, the insole 130 is basically made of an elastic material to absorb shock, but according to needs, the insole 130 may use the first mounting protrusion 130 a or the second mounting protrusion 130 b or may further use the first filling member 133 a or the second filling member 133 b to enable members (air bag, water bag, gel, etc.) to perform various functions (shock-absorbing or cushioning function, etc.).

In yet another exemplary embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 8, the insole 130′ includes the insole body 131, and the first mounting protrusion 130 a′ or the second mounting protrusion 130 b′ that protrude from the insole body 131, in which the insole body 131 may be made of a different material from the first mounting protrusion 130 a′ or the second mounting protrusion 130 b′.

For example, depending on parts of the foot, hardness of the insole body 131 may be different from the first mounting protrusion 130 a′ or the second mounting protrusion 130 b′, such that fatigue of the foot may be reduced or force may be distributed easily.

In still another exemplary embodiment as illustrated in FIG. 9, the first mounting protrusion 130 a″ may be made of a different material from the second mounting protrusion 130 b″.

As the first mounting protrusion 130 a″ and the second mounting protrusion 130 b″ are positioned on a forepart or a heel part, load on the foot is not the same, and thus by using a material having hardness suitable for load, fatigue of the foot may be reduced and shock may be absorbed.

Accordingly, the shoe with an improved internal structure may provide the following effects.

The existing insole prevents the function of a sole from being directly provided to the foot. However, the shoe with an improved internal structure according to the present disclosure provides a sole that serves the function of the existing outsole and midsole.

Further, the shoe with an improved internal structure according to the present disclosure may have a function that can be adjusted properly according to needs.

In addition, elasticity may be improved by filling the mounting protrusion of the present disclosure with an air bag, a water bag, gel, and the like.

The shoe with an improved internal structure of the present invention has been described through embodiments in the foregoing description. Although embodiments of the present invention are disclosed with specific terms in the detailed description and the drawings, it is to be understood that such terms are used in their common usage sense only to clearly explain and to help better understand the invention.

Accordingly, the scope of the invention is not limited to the aforementioned embodiments described, but the invention may be otherwise variously embodied within the scope of the appended claims. Particularly, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

EXPLANATION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS

-   100: Shoe with an improved internal structure -   110: Sole -   120: Insole board -   130: Insole 

What is claimed is:
 1. An article of footwear with a new insole board and insole construction comprising: an insole having a protrusion at a forefoot area, and a protrusion at a heel area, wherein the protrusions respectively go through two holes of the insole board and are respectively inserted into an outsole recession area or a midsole recession area which are called a forefoot chamber and a heel chamber, and wherein the two holes take up more than a specific percentage of the forefoot and heel area.
 2. The article of footwear recited in claim 1, wherein an one-piece insole is connected together to fill in the space of the both chambers.
 3. The article of footwear recited in claim 2, wherein the forefoot chamber has a different resilience as one separate piece that fits into the rest of the insole as a two-piece insole.
 4. The article of footwear recited in claim 1, wherein the fillings of the both chambers is able to be separated to fulfill different resilience, but connected together by a two-piece insole.
 5. The article of footwear recited in claim 4, wherein the forefoot and the heel chamber have different resilience, while being connected together by a three-piece insoles.
 6. The article of footwear recited in claim 2, wherein the forefoot and the heel chamber are filled with an airbag, water, or gel. 